12k 7 gal vert coco med K.I.S.S. grow

[lvtokerr]

I have always been too paranoid to do a grow journal. So this will be my first one. I live in a med state and this garden is one I am helping out on. I talked them into giving phoenix tears and juicing a go before going nuclear on themselves. (that's another soapbox id rather not step onto today. lets keep this thread grow related.)

The flower room is almost finished.
The room is approx 20x20. The walls are covered in panda poly.
mlc-12
xtrasun digi ballasts
plant max hps 1ks.
hydrofarm 45in floppy vert reflectors.
canfan 150 with the 14 fan

light pattern I plan to use:
_x_x_x_x
x_x_x_x_
_x_x_x_x

veg room is approx 8x20:
We are using sdg magnetic ballasts for the time being.
45" floppy vert reflectors
plant max hps (thinking I should throw in a mh for transition phase?)
8" vortex with a phat philter.

nutes/medium:
7 gal pots with saucers
botanicare cocogrow
maxigrow and maxibloom
koolbloom
Dr. Hesseinburg Tea Recipe

Strains:
mtn gorilla
ufo
bubblegum
fire og
native northern front
mud squid
sharks breath
green crack
nycd
karmas grape
jimmi hendrix #7
querkle
casey jones
grape crush
lambs breadth
big band
jilly bean
third dimension
flave
juicy fruit
satori
white domina
god bud


I am looking to grow trees. I already know some people think 7 gal pot of coco is a waste. I dont plan to waste any coco by growing trees. I have whacked a couple 4k grows in rwdc. So its time to step it up a bit. The strain list is so long as it was not easy to find 50 of the same clones in stores. I wish I could have started off from seed but I did not have time.

The grow is in the mountains so cold air is abundant. I plan to set the canfan150 on a cap tmp-dne to pull heat out. I will have to 8inch holes in the window for passive intake. I have found on icmag that the tmp-dne arent the greatest. Real life experience is agrees how ever it just needs to get through the first harvest.

depending on how the harvest comes out I plan to later on go with ac and co2 on a sealed room. Since where I live it can be freezing outside I plan on using a commercial grade portable ac. I like the looks of the kwikcool models. They claim they do not leak ac into the exhaust.

Tips advice and haters are welcome.

 

[lvtokerr]

I plan to get a shelving unit for the veg room. That way I can put the stereo on a shelf off the ground. I play the classical music station for them when lights are on. I will also use my t8 light on the shelves for clones. here's a pic of the rest of the flower room. Do you guys think covering the garage door with panda poly will be enough? The garage door is insulated(slightly.) I plan to have lights off during the warmest part of the day so outside cold air won't cool the room down as much. There is a heater hooked to gas already in the garage. Which will be nice when/if i plan to use co2. How ever the thermostat for the heater is located on the outside of the flower room. (another piece of the puzzle to ponder in the chase of the perfect environment.)

The veg room and flower room are only separated by a wall. I currently exhaust heat from veg to outside. I am thinking this is a waste of heat and should exhaust into flower room. However I wonder if the flower room will have enough co2 for the veg. I am sure it will be fine when the flower room is running. But right now it is empty so it would be recirculating that air. The flower room ceiling are 8-10 feet high(slants upward from one side) So would the flower room have enough volume of air for exchange with the veg and keep em happy? This would also most likely help keep humidity up as the air is dry here. The bare lights dry the air out even more. I decided to use magnetic ballasts in the veg for their extra heat.

I chose icmag for the diary as it seems to have the most coco knowledge. Icmag guys also dont seem to be as high on their horse as other forums.

theres my ramble for now fellas

 

[psg1]

FWIW, I dont think I would ever ride a horse high...

 

[isotel]

Ive Been Looking for a thread like this for weeks! Im looking at somthing similar, Cold Winter Air to cool the bulbs, Vert with Coco.. Keep us updated!

Things that im Intrested in would be how much (CFM) and how cold of air will it take to cool those bulbs..

 

[turbo14]

Lookin' good brother!

Hand watering everyday?

I got 7 Gal coco Trees. They love the extra space

turbo

 

[FlowerFarmer]

I personally wouldn't be comfortable with just poly over the garage door.

I'd build a wall or at the least make an insulated foam board wall (available in 2") over the current garage door. You'll likely benefit with the thick insulation to prevent wild temp swings as well as gain some piece of mind.

I know your med/legal, but its still important to have a solid/sound/secure structure to grow in. What if someone hears that garage humming and decides they want some meds of their own.. Someone could easily back a box truck right through that garage door and load up (gears, plants, everything).. They'd be some crazy fuckers, but eh they are out there. Not sure if a wall would even do anything in that instance, but it might help control the temps better and quiet things down from outside.

Then again I dont know your situation or location. If your cool with just poly go for it, although you may be making more challenges in the environmental department or forcing your AC to work harder, etc.



Go with a split unit. Those commercial portables still need to be vented (to the tune of 12-18" pipe).. or you may be able to run them sealed with the additional intake flange, but you'll further need large intake and large exhaust holes to accommodate the thing....and then you still have the risk of co2/smell somehow finding its way out. You live in the mountains.. do you have a source for free cold water supply? The portable watercooled units are badass.. capture that heat and send it down the drain. They use several gallons per minute however ran to waste so a cold water spring or something (small pond?) is necessary.

Otherwise go with the split or traditional home AC (one made to run in freezing temps). Portables are a hassle.. even commercial spot cooler type models.

 

[jang707]

looks awesome! I don't know if you have a specific reason for using those reflectors, but i think in your case bare bulbs would be better, those reflectors just push heat back down towards your plants. Maybe do a side by side with a reflector and a bare bulb? i am sure you know what your doing, this is just a suggestion (I have read quite a bit on the subject, and i am going to try a vert grow VS horizontal hood and see what the difference is) Good looking grow!

 

[lvtokerr]

I personally wouldn't be comfortable with just poly over the garage door.

I'd build a wall or at the least make an insulated foam board wall (available in 2") over the current garage door. You'll likely benefit with the thick insulation to prevent wild temp swings as well as gain some piece of mind.

I know your med/legal, but its still important to have a solid/sound/secure structure to grow in. What if someone hears that garage humming and decides they want some meds of their own.. Someone could easily back a box truck right through that garage door and load up (gears, plants, everything).. They'd be some crazy fuckers, but eh they are out there. Not sure if a wall would even do anything in that instance, but it might help control the temps better and quiet things down from outside.



Go with a split unit. Those commercial portables still need to be vented (to the tune of 12-18" pipe).. or you may be able to run them sealed with the additional intake flange, but you'll further need large intake and large exhaust holes to accommodate the thing....and then you still have the risk of smell somehow finding its way out. You live in the mountains.. do you have a source for free cold water supply? The portable watercooled units are badass.. capture that heat and send it down the drain. They use several gallons per minute however ran to waste so a cold water spring or something is necessary.

Otherwise go with the split or traditional home AC. Portables are a hassle.. even commercial spot cooler type models.

The police are hardcore in this town. If anything is suspicious (such as a truck backing threw a garage door) police will be there in minutes. When I moved in I had two different visits in under 24 hrs. It was only for parking(in front of my own house). If you go too fast they will get you. If the police do not see anything the neighbors definitely will. its a small town we look out for each other. I could do endless things for security but really how hard is it to saw saw a man hole in a weak spot. the house is vary rarely left unoccupied. some day ill have a castle but this place is not brick.

Plus funds do not allow for anything more than poly currently. I'm hoping that 12 ballasts and lights will keep the room toasty enough plus allow for cold air intake. After this harvest I may put up foam board. Later on I when I get fancy Ill do a flip flop flower room then ill put up a real wall.

will minisplit or traditional ac work outside with a foot of snow on them? plus wont the neighbors wonder whats up with the ac running with snow outside? sure a kwikkool will be loud but ill be inside out of view. plus a kwikool is easier to move. i like being able to take my stuff with me asap if need be esp ac.


jang- im using the reflectors for now so I have a bumper from burning my face off on a bulb. ive heard horror stories... I dont think heat is bad in my situation as itll give me the oppertunity to pull more cold fresh air in. (my theory at least so far)

turbo- i plan to water daily via hose with a 36in wand. right now i am watering with a gallon jug. i been waiting for them to slightly dry out on top before watering to force roots down(as I learned in a thread i started). so im up to watering just about every other day. some of the bigger mamas i can tell are just about ready for watering every day. today they took 2 gallons of nutes to get some run off. i think they needed two gallons of nutes because i let them get tan on top. i think now instead of doing that i will just give them a gallon everyday. im still afraid of over watering.

psg- a horse is the highest thing ive ever rode. and they only have 1 hp...

 

[FlowerFarmer]

Hell yea.. you know your situation better then anyone.

Looking pretty bright in there. I know my split can run down into winter temps, but I forget the cut off.. still needs to be able to breathe though. I'm running my split all winter this year. I'm not near neighbors but still makes me uneasy in case someone ever comes on to the property and notices it.

Luckily it actually says Mr Slim Heat Pump on the side of it, so my story is it is supplemental heat to my wood boiler should anyone actually ask. My close hvac buddy spotted it and thats what I told him... cant really say if he bought my BS, but he dropped the subject and isnt really one to talk much anyways.


Might want to reflectix that garage door if a little budget over poly allows. Would still be just as easy and quick as poly, but may give you a hair better insulation properties.


Anyways..it looks like your off to killing it so I cant wait to watch. The wand will makes things way easier (I refuse to water with jugs anymore). Throw your wand pump on a cheap remote outlet controller/switch so that you can turn your pump on/off from a distance. Keeps the stress off your pump/wand...and is just handy for all kinds of shit.

 

[medmaker420]

LOVE IT!!!

Man do I miss my vert coco stadium but it wasn't this large

killer and can't wait to see how it grows brother.

I too am a lover of the plantmaxx bulbs, they have worked better than bulbs double the price and on eBay you can get 1k bulbs in bulk for super cheap.

 

[Marlo]

tagged

tagged

 

[lvtokerr]

nice to have ya

LOVE IT!!!

Man do I miss my vert coco stadium but it wasn't this large

killer and can't wait to see how it grows brother.

I too am a lover of the plantmaxx bulbs, they have worked better than bulbs double the price and on eBay you can get 1k bulbs in bulk for super cheap.

yeah this rounds on a tight budget so they get err done. i'm not really into overpaying for for something that gives the same a to b. does anyone know if plantmax can be set to "super lumen" by digi ballasts?

Anyways..it looks like your off to killing it so I cant wait to watch. The wand will makes things way easier (I refuse to water with jugs anymore). Throw your wand pump on a cheap remote outlet controller/switch so that you can turn your pump on/off from a distance. Keeps the stress off your pump/wand...and is just handy for all kinds of shit.

i like this idea. will definitely look into the pump wand remote switches. do you have one that you recommend ? ah the joys of having another item to research to see which is worth having.

i need to finishing hanging poly so i get can em in there. i just really hate poly. i can never get it to lay flat as id like. im thinkin ill veg them a couple days in the big room to let em spread out. they are slightly crammed in the veg room currently. hopefully start harvesting just after new years.

thanks for all the support guys :]

 

[FlowerFarmer]

I've used several brands. I think they are similar.

One brand ate batteries quick and used some odd watch batteries.
Im using something like this now. (not exact). They are cheap and just turn an outlet on/off from a distance. Great for wand watering or filling up reservoirs.

I've used these as well.

 

[lvtokerr]

I've used several brands. I think they are similar.

so sounds like they last as long as they look like they will.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

You mean they look like cheap junk? Well they are Chinese cheap, but I don't keep buying them because they fail.. just because they have so many uses.

I'm not sure where I got my current workhorse one (black two outlet with small fob), but it seems pretty solid. Works well..use it to pump (large wattage sump pump) from RO tank to my designated blumat reservoirs.

I have a single of the one pictured in the below picture off of ebay for $0.99 + $7 shipping. I used it to operate a commercial magnetic lock to lock a door without a visible lock. Never gave me any problem.

I've ran a model from harbor freight that has 3 outlets.. with a fob with 3 buttons on it. It ran no problems, but these might have been the units that ate batteries fairly quickly. Cant say for certain though.


Just make sure you don't keep water pumps plugged into them. You don't want to accidentally walk off with the fob in your pocket and turn your pump on from the living room by mistake.

I drove myself crazy for a second when I was using the one to operate the magnetic lock. I'd hear a loud bang from upstairs and couldnt figure out what was causing it. Eventually dawned on me that I was pocket-unlocking the attic grow room door..it would open about 1/2" and then I'd hit the button again unknowingly and it'd pull and smack back shut. Powerful locks.. felt like a gorilla was holding the other side if you grabbed the handle on my attic door. I wasnt using it for hardcore security, but rather a clever way to lock a door without huge lock or deadbolt. (didnt want to change the ancient knobs for atheistic purposes), and didnt want my grandma asking why I kept deadbolts/padlock on the attic door.


They're handy.. I like having them around for different tasks. Your mileage may vary, but its worth a shot. I don't like having to run back over and turn off my pump before I overlow a barrel or bucket...too many water disasters..lol

 

[lvtokerr]

is it still considered a vert grow if i flower 48 under a dozen lights? the more i read about vert the more i think its better for less numbers and bigger plants. I wont really be hitting them on the side as much as classic vert guys do. i'm thinking the bulbs will be hitting them from the top. we shall see thou eh?

i was also wondering how im going to tie all the fatties up. i think it might be a little late to try and shove tomato cages on em. the ceilings are really high so tying them up to the ceiling wouldn't be very easy as i'd need a ladder for most of the room. since i am not growing six footers+ (this round) will they still fall over as easy?

 

[DHF]

If running big plants , 20 x 20/400 sq ft requires 20 KW for optimum lumen penetration/absorption into the sideways canopy to insure no larfy popcorn bullshit come harvey............IME.......

Know all too well about a budget , just try to use it to the most important aspects of equipment that keeps the ball rolling with environmental and watts per sq ft being the top of the equation......and.....

50 watts per sq ft is your friend.......guaranteed......

Good luck....DHF.........

 

[lvtokerr]

larf will give me more to experiment in my tami with. not that i want it but it wont go to waste till i dial the vert thing in. unless i ran the lights on a flip flop i dont think i have the amperage to run 20kw. i am pretty sure i dont have amps for 20 lights and an ac. of course dhf your not an ac guy eh?

dhf (or anyone else) what do you think about flowering 48 plants under the 12 vert lights?

 

[Mister_D]

lvtokerr - All depends on the size of the plants. I flower 64 small plants around three 600's in one room, around 30 under five 600's in another room, and 75-80 around twenty 600's in my big room. All done bare bulb vert. The important thing to remember is to fill all of the lit space with buds

 

[CulturedHeathen]

Nothing to hate about this setup! I love building rooms, just finished an 8k buildout and had a blast doing it!